Springfield Armory® Blog

In the LE and defensive worlds, it has often been said that, "A pistol is used to fight your way to a rifle".

The virtue of the modern duty or defensive pistol is its size and weight, which eases concealment and portability. And as good as modern ammo has become, no one would argue that a concealable pistol would be preferrable to the greater power and reach of a carbine.

So it comes down to size and weight. The SAINT™ Pistol offers the virtues of a compact rifle while still being classified as a pistol.

Bottom line is this: You get near-carbine performance in a much smaller package. It's not likely to replace your XD-S® or EMP® as your EDC (every day carry) but the SAINT™ Pistol is definitely more compact and maneuverable than your standard carbine, allowing it to be nearer to you and ready to go when a bigger rifle wouldn't.

And this is the whole appeal of the AR Pistol genre.

This new little brother in the SAINT™ line packs a big punch chambering the .223 / 5.56 round. As for controllability and "pointability", The SAINT™ Pistol allows the user to spread the handhold contact points over the longer length of the firearm. Furthermore, the shooter can enhance the speed and accuracy potential by facilitating a cheek contact point using the forearm brace.

So in the unfortunate event where you may need to fight your way to a rifle, you might instead "fight your way..." to the new SAINT™ AR-15 Pistol.

STEVE HORSMAN - AN LE AGENT'S PERSPECTIVE

Several years ago when I first saw an AR pistol, I thought to myself, “What is the point of this product?” And when I handled one, it confirmed my thoughts that it was a little silly, bulky and not very useful because it was not set up to be a rifle.

Initial offerings of AR-style pistols just had a buffer tube, or receiver extension, that may or may not have had a sort of neoprene pad attached. It didn’t have any groves or notch points for a stock, again because it was a pistol.

As I continued to visit gun stores and shooting ranges, I began to sporadically see these AR pistols and began changing my mind, thinking, “They are kind of cool, but they're just not very easy to accurately shoot beyond about 10 or 15 yards".

Fast forward a few years and with technological advances and improvements, arm braces attached to the rear buffer tube / receiver extension, became available. The first ones I saw were shaped in the profile of a traditional collapsible stock on the AR platform rifles. The brace was designed to put your shooting hand through it and use the Velcro strap to attach it to your forearm. Your hand was to be positioned on the grip.

These 2nd gen designs made the AR Pistol much easier to shoot, but I never envisioned the widespread use of this type of firearm until recently, when I saw utilization of a red dot optic on the Pistol, which made it much easier to shoot accurately.

SA's AR-15 BEGINNINGs

Within the last year, Springfield Armory introduced its first AR, the SAINT™ Rifle, and it took off like a wildfire! The initial SAINT™ was a traditional AR platform rifle with a 16-inch barrel, a collapsible stock and a traditional-style front sight.

The second generation of the SAINT™ arrived soon after, with the free float handguard. This is currently my favorite AR.

Springfield Armory’s next evolution of the AR platform is the new SAINT™ Pistol. The first time I saw the SAINT™ Pistol I thought it was cool, and I had a blast testing it.

I put a two-point sling on it, allowing me to create tension and rigidity by pushing the gun away from my body. This allowed me to better stabilize this compact AR in Pistol configuration. I shot a couple hundred rounds through it and the more I shot it, the more I liked it. This tenchnique allowed me to gain total control and excellent accuracy without ever shouldering the weapon. While I was tempted, I didn’t want to be in the gray area of shouldering what is in fact a pistol. And didn't need to anyhow.

ATF RULINGS

When the first braces for the AR-15 style Pistols were introduced, there was some confusion as to whether or not they were legal. The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms & Explosives (ATF) made a ruling that the arm braces for the AR style Pistol were in fact legal.

My understanding is also that the ATF has recently introduced a ruling on shouldering of the AR style Pistols indicating that shouldering of the units is also in fact legal. Please contact and review the ATF ruling for any questions and clarification.

The grip on the SAINT™ Pistol is the same that is found on the entire family of SAINT™ Rifles - the Bravo Company grip. It also has the same front and rear flip up sites that were introduced on the free float hand guard model SAINT™, but the Pistol differs in the fact that the rear buffer tube / receiver extension utilizes a wrist / arm attachment unit.

The SAINT™ Pistol has a 7-inch barrel with a blast diverter that forces the muzzle blast forward and away from the shooter. It not only works really well, it looks really cool!

The hand guard is free floated and includes a hand stop that attaches to the M-LOK sections so you can use it as a reference / stop point for your support hand. I installed it at the 6 o'clock position on the most forward M-LOK point.

When I started to think about the uses for the SAINT™ Pistol, I initially thought it would have no use in the Law Enforcement environment. But as thought more and more, I realized that for most LE agencies in America, the Police Departments are comprised of 50 officers or less. The SAINT™ Pistol fills a roll for the individual officer to have a small, compact and powerful firearm that is easy to utilize in and around patrol vehicles and deployment for responders that are first on the scenes of really bad situations.

For the average American gun owner, the SAINT™ Pistol fills a role that nothing else can. The advantage of the AR-15 pistol in general - and the SAINT™ Pistol in specific - is in comparison to a full size carbine. It is light weight, compact and easy to maneuver.

Compared to other traditional pistols, it is powerful and accurate. It is also a lot of fun to shoot and most importantly, extremely reliable. I know I will be getting at least one!

Check out the SAINT™ Pistol photos and specs on our website www.springfield-armory.com and don't forget that the holidays are coming. #ChristmasWishList

Springfield Armory® recommends you seek qualified and competent training from a certified instructor prior to handling any firearm and be sure to read your owner’s manual. These articles are considered to be suggestions and not recommendations from Springfield Armory®.